Canada's Para nordic team wins 4 more medals at World Cup finals in Utah

Canada's Para nordic team combined to win four more medals on Thursday at the World Cup finals in Midway, Utah, bringing its total to nine through two days of competition.

Sit-skier Collin Cameron, who won men's sprint gold on Wednesday, continued his remarkable season with silver in the men's five-kilometre event.

The 34-year-old from Bracebridge, Ont., clocked 14:23.8 to reach his second straight podium at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center.

'I'm very happy with the race today. A 5km is really tough. It's so easy to start too hard and cook yourself," Cameron said. "It is nice to still end up on the podium. It was better weather today which made for perfect conditions."

Italy's Giuseppe Romele won gold in 13:46.9, while Ukraine's Taras Rad took home bronze (14:23.8).

Pemberton, B.C., native Ethan Hess finished 11th (16:01.5).

Fellow Canadian Mark Arendz, who recently lit the cauldron to open the 2023 Canada Winter Games in his native P.E.I., won silver in the men's 5km skate-ski race with a time of 12:11.2.

The 32-year-old from Hartsville finished behind Japan's Taiki Kawayoke (12:07.2), while France's Benjamin Daviet claimed bronze by finishing .1 seconds behind Arendz.

"I was very happy with my performance. I knew going in that today was going to hurt. After spending time at sea level, travelling to altitude was not going to make the race easy," Arendz said.

"I focused on pushing and controlling my race over the first lap, then progressing through the second lap. It was an exciting, tight race from start to finish."

In the women's 5km sit-ski event, Christina Picton picked up her second bronze medal for Canada in as many days.

The 29-year-old finished in 18:34.5, two spots ahead of fellow Canadian Lyne-Marie Bilodeau of Magog, Que. (19:58.3).

"The conditions were a lot better so racing was a lot nicer, but not any easier," Picton said. "This course is a tough one, with heavy climbs off the start.

"It was just about energy management and skiing efficiently. I'm happy that racing my plan resulted in another podium, but there's still lots of work to be done. I'm grateful for the fast boards again, and all of the support from our team."

Picton, a former Para hockey player from Fonthill, Ont., finished behind Germany's Anja Wicker (19:27.8), with American Kendall Gretsch topping the podium for the second straight day in 16:38.5.

Salmon Arm, B.C., native Natalie Wilkie also took home her second straight bronze medal, reaching the podium in the women's 5km standing event with a time of 13:15.3.

Brittany Hudak of Prince Albert, Sask., winner of a silver medal on Wednesday, just missed the podium in fourth (13:55.1).

Norway's Vilde Nilsen captured gold in 12:59.7, while Ukrainian Liudmyla Liashenko rounded out the podium (13:09.4).